Andrew Sopko

Ph.D. Candidate
Field: Post Confederation Canada and Cold War Studies

Education

M.A. Carleton University, B.A. (High Honours)

About

During my time at Carleton I discovered a passion for Canadian history. Under the supervision of Norman Hillmer and Andrew Burtch, I refined that interest and began to focus on the Cold War and completed my master's thesis, titled "An (Im)Balance of Expectations: Civil Defence in Ottawa, 1951-1962." I am interested in the effects of the nuclear bomb on the cultural and social realities of Canadian society. Going beyond this I am interested in how Canadians conceptualize threat, and how fears and concerns about external dangers can reinforce and shape ideas of gender, race, citizenship, and class. Under the supervision of Jeffrey Brison I will examine how Canadian municipalities reacted to the prospect of nuclear annihilation during the Cold War, through their relationship with federal and provincial civil defence efforts, in the hopes of understanding how transnational conflicts can impact the daily realities of Canadian life.